Wheat Free Surprise Banana Oat Muffins

Happy Summer, folks! And thanks for hanging in there in spite of my absence. It's been an exciting summer; in June Dan and I had a much-needed vacation in Scotland, and almost as soon as we returned, I headed over to Summerfest, where I gave 3 lectures and got inspired by dozens of amazing fellow vegans.

For the first time, I have a garden -- organic, but unfortunately not veganic. I don't compost yet but it's on my list of goals for 2013. I started the garden back in May (I moved an entire bed of perennials at the side of my house out of a plot to other locations, and I started fresh there), and I've been harvesting some amazing lettuce, arugula, kale, spinach, cukes, eggplant, green beans, and tomatoes. The peas were sort of a disaster but I will try, try again. I've been busy learning about soil maintenance and tricks of the trade.

I've been cooking a lot with my fresh veggies, and will start sharing those recipes!

For today, I just had to break my MIA streak to share this recipe I concocted for banana muffins. I almost always have 2 or 3 aging bananas in the bowl, and I was getting tired of the white-flour banana muffin variety, so I stepped it up and made a more nutritious, wheat free, whole grain rendition.

Wheat-Free Surprise Banana Oat Muffins

You will need:

• 1 1/4 cups oat flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 6 tbsp rolled oats
• 1/4 cup coconut flakes
• 1/4 cup ground flax seeds
• 2 medium bananas
• 1 cup dairy-free milk
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 100% fruit jam and/or vegan chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375 and prepare a 12-cup muffin tin with oil or oil spray.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir in the oats, coconut, and flax. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas and add in the remaining ingredients up to the vanilla.

Add wet to dry and stir until just mixed.

Divide the batter into the 12 cups (they might be almost full; that's ok). For the surprise, place either about 1/2 tsp jam or about 4 chocolate chips in the center. Bake for about 20 minutes; test for doneness.